Biomarker-assessed passive smoking in relation to cause-specific mortality: pooled data from 12 prospective cohort studies comprising 36 584 individuals

AIMS: While investigators have typically quantified the health risk of passive (secondhand) smoking by using self-reported data, these are liable to measurement error. By pooling data across studies, we examined the prospective relation of a biochemical assessment of passive smoking, salivary cotinine, with mortality from a range of causes. METHODS: We combined data from 12 cohort studies from England and Scotland initiated between 1998 and 2008. A total of 36 584 men and women aged 16-85 years of age reported that they were non-smoking at baseline, provided baseline salivary cotinine and consented to mortality record linkage. RESULTS: A mean of 8.1 years of mortality follow-up of 36 584 non-smokers (16 792 men and 19 792 women) gave rise to 2367 deaths (775 from cardiovascular disease, 779 from all cancers and 289 from smoking-related cancers). After controlling for a range of covariates, a 10 ng/mL increase in salivary cotinine was related to an elevated risk of total (HRs; 95% CI) (1.46; 1.16 to 1.83), cardiovascular disease (1.41; 0.96 to 2.09), cancer (1.49; 1.00 to 2.22) and smoking-related cancer mortality (2.92; 1.77 to 4.83). CONCLUSIONS: Assessed biomedically, passive smoking was a risk factor for a range of health outcomes known to be causally linked to active smoking

Hardcore Smokers in Norway 1996–2009

In Norway, the prevalence of daily smoking has gradually declined from 50% among men and 30% among women in the early 1970s to 13% in both genders in 2015. The rate of occasional smoking has remained stable at approximately 10% in recent decades. Presumably, this decline in the historically prevalent and socially rooted practice of smoking signals the final stage of the tobacco epidemic, which is characterized by an increasing social gradient within the steadily decreasing segment of smokers. Norway was once a pioneer in tobacco control and introduced a comprehensive governmental program to reduce smoking, including a total ban on tobacco advertising starting in the mid-1970s. Since then, most of the policy instruments recommended by the World Health Organization to combat smoking have been implemented. In addition to a robust infrastructure for tobacco control, there has also been a focus on social denormalization strategies to make cigarettes less desirable and less accessible, and the act of smoking less acceptable. However, given the severe harm associated with smoking, the tobacco control community considers the decline in smoking to be too slow. In particular, there has been a concern for a possible asymptotic plateau in smoking rates. Whether smoking rates will tend to flatten in countries that have reached the last phase of the tobacco epidemic has also been an issue for researchers. One approach has been to investigate the number of “hardcore smokers” to test the much-discussed “hardening hypothesis”. Hardcore smokers are inveterate smokers who do not want to or are not able to quit smoking and therefore are considered a difficult segment to reach by traditional tobacco control measures. The hardening hypothesis postulates that the proportion of hardcore smokers will increase as smoking prevalence declines. The overall aim of this thesis is to increase our understanding of those who continue to smoke, as the normative and socio-material climate tends to facilitate non-smoking. I use various survey data sets to address four main topics in this thesis. The first paper investigates the size of the hardcore smoker group and whether the relative size of the group has changed over time in the population of smokers. We concluded that the size of the hardcore group of smokers remains relatively moderate in Norway, and we found little support for the hardening hypothesis. However, this conclusion depends upon how hardcore smokers are operationalized. Increased knowledge about the mechanisms underlying smokers’ willingness and/or ability to quit is needed. The second paper examines differences between smokers and snus users and their perceptions of their own tobacco use, self-evaluative emotions, perceived moral judgment and social disapproval of their tobacco use. Compared with snus users, we observed that smokers tend to hold more negative emotions about and experience more social disapproval of their tobacco behaviour. Social inequality in smoking behaviour is addressed in the third paper. More precisely, I set out to explore the associations between education, income and the risk of smoking. I conclude that low education is associated with a greater risk of dependence, heavy smoking and having no intention to quit. The last paper in this thesis explored public opinions for 16 novel tobacco control strategies. Smokers opposed all of the proposed strategies except banning smoking in cars carrying children, increasing the age limit for purchasing cigarettes, and banning smoking at transportation stops. The legitimacy of the newly proposed tobacco control measures is discussed within a justification framework. Overall, I conclude that many smokers experience a subjective feeling of stigmatization, they express resistance to increased tobacco control measures and there are some signs of social marginalization processes. In the thesis, these results are discussed in a social inequality and social resistance framework. In addition, smoking is discussed in relation to social stigma and neutralization of risk. The mechanisms underlying the inequality, stigmatization and resistance associated with smoking behaviour need further investigation

Psychosocial predictors of eating habits among adults in their mid-30s: The Oslo Youth Study follow-up 1991–1999

BACKGROUND: The predictive value of the psychosocial constructs of Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) on subsequent dietary habits has not been previously investigated in a multivariate approach that includes demographic factors and past dietary behaviour among adults. The aim of this study was to investigate to what extent TPB constructs, including intention, attitudes, subjective norms, perceived behavioural control, and perceived social norms, measured at age 25 predicted four eating behaviours (intake of fruits and vegetables, whole grains, total fat and added sugar) eight years later. METHODS: Two hundred and forty men and 279 women that participated in the Oslo Youth Study were followed from 1991 to 1999 (mean age 25 and 33 years, respectively). Questionnaires at baseline (1991) included the constructs of the TPB and dietary habits, and at follow-up (1999) questionnaires included demographic factors and diet. For the assessment of diet, a food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) with a few food items was used at baseline while an extensive semi-quantitative FFQ was used at follow-up. RESULTS: Among men, attitudes, subjective norms and previous eating behaviour were significant predictors of fruit and vegetable intake, while education and past eating behaviour were predictive of whole grain intake in multivariate analyses predicting dietary intake at follow-up. For women, perceived behavioural control, perceived social norms and past behaviour were predictive of fruit and vegetable intake, while subjective norms, education and past eating behaviour were predictive of whole grain intake. For total fat intake, intention was predictive for men and perceived behavioural control for women. Household income and past consumption of sugar-rich foods were significant predictors of added sugar intake among men, while past intake of sugar-rich foods was a significant predictor of added sugar intake among women. CONCLUSION: After adjusting for potential confounding factors, all psychosocial factors assessed among young adults appeared predictive of one or more eating behaviours reported eight years later. Results point to the influence of psychosocial factors on future eating behaviours and the potential for interventions targeting such factors

Childhood Body Weight in Relation to Cause-Specific Mortality: 67 Year Follow-up of Participants in the 1947 Scottish Mental Survey.

The association between childhood body weight and adult health has been little-examined, and findings are inconsistent.In a representative sample of the Scottish nation (the Scottish Mental Survey of 1947), we examined the association between body mass index measured at 11 years of age and future cause-specific mortality by age 77 years. In this cohort study, a maximum of 67 years of follow-up of 3839 study members gave rise to 1568 deaths (758 from cardiovascular disease, 610 from any malignancy). After adjustment for covariates, there was some evidence of a relation between elevated childhood body mass index and rates of mortality ascribed to all-causes (hazard ratio per 1 SD increase in body mass index; 95% confidence interval: 1.09; 1.03, 1.14), cardiovascular disease (1.09; 1.01, 1.17), all cancers combined (1.12; 1.03, 1.21), smoking-related cancers (1.13; 1.03, 1.25), and breast cancer in women (1.27; 1.04, 1.56).In conclusion, we provide further observational evidence for the need for weight control measures in youth

Diet and feeding strategy of Northeast Atlantic mackerel (Scombrus scomber) in Icelandic waters

Publisher's versionPredator-prey relations, as well as the trophic ecology of highly migratory marine species, is important to understand their impact on the ecosystem. Conventional methods were used to study the diet composition and feeding strategy of the Northeast Atlantic mackerel (Scombrus scomber), during their summer feeding migration to Icelandic waters in 2009–2014. In addition, generalised additive modelling (GAM) was used to determine which biological and environmental factors contribute to the variation of their stomach weight in the years 2011–2014. From the dietary analysis, we found that calanoid copepods (especially Calanus finmarchicus) were the most important contributor to the overall diet of mackerel in the years studied. Although in some years and areas, they also preyed heavily on larger prey items such as euphausiids, amphipods and megalopa larvae of crab and shrimp. The GAM showed that temperature and the time the day of sampling were significant explanatory variables for the stomach weight, while zooplankton biomass did not seem to have much influence. The Northeast Atlantic mackerel are ferocious feeders upon copepods, as well as exhibiting an overall opportunistic feeding strategy. During their feeding migration in Icelandic waters, they were found to feed on the most dominant species available to them.This research was funded by the Icelandic Centre for Research (grant number: 163371-051), the Marine and Freshwater Institute of Iceland and Matis as a part of a PhD project on the ecosystem impact of mackerel in Icelandic waters.Peer Reviewe

Projecting the future smoking prevalence in Norway

Background: Norway has achieved a noteworthy reduction in smoking prevalence over the past forty years. In 2015, 13% of Norwegians aged 13-74 smoked daily and a further 9% smoked occasionally. One of the objectives of the Norwegian 2013-16 national strategy for tobacco control is to achieve a reduction in the daily smoking prevalence t

Exploring the association of diary product intake with the fatty acids C15:0 and C17:0 measured from dried blood spots in a multi-population cohort: findings from the Food4Me study

Scope: The use of biomarkers in the objective assessment of dietary intake is a high priority in nutrition research. The aim of this study was to examine pentadecanoic acid (C15:0) and heptadecanoic acid (C17:0) as biomarkers of dairy foods intake. Methods and results: The data used in the present study were obtained as part of the Food4me Study. Estimates of C15:0 and C17:0 from dried blood spots and intakes of dairy from an FFQ were obtained from participants (n=1,180) across 7 countries. Regression analyses were used to explore associations of biomarkers with dairy intake levels and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analyses were used to evaluate the fatty acids. Significant positive associations were found between C15:0 and total intakes of high-fat dairy products. C15:0 showed good ability to distinguish between low and high consumers of high-fat dairy products. Conclusion: C15:0 can be used as a biomarker of high-fat dairy intake and of specific high-fat dairy products. Both C15:0 and C17:0 performed poorly for total dairy intake highlighting the need for caution when using these in epidemiological studies

The Relationship between the Level of Fatness and Fitness during Adolescence and the Risk Factors of Metabolic Disorders in Adulthood

BACKGROUND: The purpose of the current study was to investigate the association between the level of obesity and physical fitness (PF) during adolescence and the risk factors of metabolic disorders during adulthood. METHODS: In the current analysis, 3,993 Korean adults (mean age, 38.70 +/- 1.69 years) were recruited. The level of body index (BI) and PF were examined during adolescence through high school record, and their health examination data, including systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), fasting glucose (FG), total cholesterol (TC), and current body mass index (BMI) were obtained from National Health Insurance Corporation Data. Gender-specific analyses were administered to compare health exam data across the level of BI, the level of PF, and a mixed level of BI and PF. RESULTS: Most obese males during high school had statistically higher SBP, DBP, FG, and BMI in adulthood, and most obese females had higher BMI, as compared to most lean males or females. Least fit males during high school had statistically higher BMI in adulthood, and least fit females had statistically higher SBP, DBP, FG, TC, and BMI, as compared to most fit males or females. There was a significant relationship between the mixed level of BI and PF and SBP, DBP, TC and current BMI in both genders. CONCLUSION: Maintaining a healthy level of body weight and PF during adolescence is recommended to prevent the development of metabolic diseases in adulthood.ope

A Preliminary Investigation on Smokeless Tobacco Use and Its Cognitive Effects Among Athletes

The Supplementary Material for this article can be found online at: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fphar. 2018.00216/full#supplementary-materialIntroduction: Among athletes, an increasing use of nicotine via smokeless tobacco has been reported. However, there are currently unanswered questions about whether the use by athletes is due to nicotine’s addictive properties and/or to benefits in physical and cognitive performance (e.g., decision-making). In this original article we reported about, (i) snus-induced reinforcing effects among snus-user athletes (Survey) and (ii) the effects of snus on the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT) in snus-user skiers (Experimental study). IGT is an experimental neuropsychological task that has been previously used on athletes and addicts to test decision-making. Methods: Survey: data were collected with the modified Cigarette Evaluation Questionnaire (mCEQ) that was administered to 61 winter sport athlete snus-users in Northern Italy. Experimental study: IGT data included: amount of money earned, number of choices from advantageous and disadvantageous decks and overall net score. Eighteen male snus-users were tested under satiety or after 12-h abstinence conditions according to a crossover design. Results: Survey: the comparison between occasional vs. regular snus-users showed a statistically significant difference in satisfaction (P = 0.0088), calm (P = 0.0252), and enjoyment (P = 0.0001) mCEQ items suggesting a snus intake/effect relationship. Experimental study: significantly higher IGT net scores were found during the first 20 choice cards after abstinence vs. satiety conditions (P = 0.0024). Conclusion: In the Survey, regular snus use induces greater satisfaction and psychological reward than occasional use. In the Experimental study, snus intake might produce an early and transient cognitive improvement on IGT in abstinent snus-users, presumably acting as a withdrawal relief

Decline in Physical Fitness From Childhood to Adulthood Associated With Increased Obesity and Insulin Resistance in Adults

To examine how fitness in both childhood and adulthood is associated with adult obesity and insulin resistance. A prospective cohort study set in Australia in 2004-2006 followed up a cohort of 647 adults who had participated in the Australian Schools Health and Fitness Survey in 1985 and who had undergone anthropometry and cardiorespiratory fitness assessment during the survey. Outcome measures were insulin resistance and obesity, defined as a homeostasis model assessment index above the 75th sex-specific percentile and BMI &ge;30 kg/m^sup 2^, respectively. Lower levels of child cardiorespiratory fitness were associated with increased odds of adult obesity (adjusted odds ratio [OR] per unit decrease 3.0 [95% CI 1.6- 5.6]) and insulin resistance (1.7 [1.1-2.6]). A decline in fitness level between childhood and adulthood was associated with increased obesity (4.5 [2.6-7.7]) and insulin resistance (2.1 [1.5- 2.9]) per unit decline. A decline in fitness from childhood to adulthood, and by inference a decline in physical activity, is associated with obesity and insulin resistance in adulthood. Programs aimed at maintaining high childhood physical activity levels into adulthood may have potential for reducing the burden of obesity and type 2 diabetes in adults.<br /